By the time the sky was fully bright the next day, Zhao Kuangyin finally learned that the Empress was ill in Zichen Palace. He summoned an imperial physician and questioned him, only to be told that the Empress had merely caught a wind-cold and was in no serious danger. The guest residence outside Xunfeng Gate had just been completed, and Zhao Kuangyin had long since decided that he would inspect it personally today. Having finally waited until this day, he found it even harder to get away. He merely ordered that the Empress be cared for properly, that her medicine be given on time, and that he would visit her later.
Ling’er brought the news back. Yunjie seemed long accustomed to such things. Her fever had not subsided, and she lay on the couch, drifting into a muddled sleep. She had coughed for much of the night and only now felt slightly better.
Someone came in from outside Zichen Palace to announce, “Lady Huarui has come to pay respects to the Empress.”
The voice was quiet, but Ling’er stopped the visitor outside. “The Empress has only just fallen asleep and cannot receive anyone. She has been in the palace this long without so much as coming to say a word, and now suddenly she knows how to be attentive.” Yunjie heard every word from inside and answered weakly, “Let her in. Ling’er, if such words spread, people will say the Empress is jealous.”
Ling’er could only lower her head and lead Lady Huarui inside.
The woman’s beauty had been famous throughout Shu, and now that Yunjie saw her, she truly was a peerless beauty. Her brows and eyes were seductive, and one lifted glance seemed to carry an entire springtime of charm. Yunjie, ill and reclining on the couch, wore plain clothing that looked almost excessively simple beside Lady Huarui’s red-and-gold robes. Lady Huarui gracefully began to salute. Yunjie tried to speak but coughed first, so she could only wave her hand slightly to indicate that there was no need.
Lady Huarui was excellent at polite conversation. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she examined Yunjie’s complexion. “The Empress need not worry. This consort sees that Your Majesty’s spirits remain good. A few days of rest and you will surely recover completely. I heard His Majesty is busy today with that guest residence, so I imagine he has no time to come and visit. That is why this consort came to keep the Empress company. Having someone to speak with is better than remaining bored alone.” As she finished, she personally offered Yunjie tea, displaying the utmost intimacy.
Ling’er stood to one side glaring at her without pause, her face flushed red.
Yunjie had understood Lady Huarui’s purpose from the beginning. Taking advantage of the fact that Yunjie was ill and the Emperor still had not visited, Huarui had grown bolder. Yunjie smiled faintly, accepted the tea, and said little. There was no use talking with her.
Lady Huarui carefully surveyed the furnishings of the central palace and found them far simpler than she had expected, nothing like the extraordinary luxury she had once known in Shu. “Has the Empress heard of that guest residence?” Before Yunjie could answer, she laughed first. “This consort misspoke. The Empress has lived in Zichen Palace for so long that I imagine you know nothing of affairs outside.”
Yunjie lowered her lashes. “Xunfeng Gate has been mentioned often lately. The residence being built there must be extraordinarily refined.”
Lady Huarui’s smile deepened. “Indeed.” Her gaze shifted, instantly bright with springlike radiance. “Some people even say it is no less splendid than the rear palace itself.”
Yunjie began coughing and took a little tea to suppress it. Lady Huarui immediately put on a flustered expression. “This consort has offended. It is only street gossip among the common people. The Empress must not take it seriously. I mentioned it merely to relieve the boredom…”
Ling’er could endure no more. “Lady Huarui, please return. The Empress is unwell today.”
Lady Huarui did not rise. She assumed the Empress would at least politely urge her to stay, but Yunjie did not move at all and instead leaned farther into the couch, looking uncomfortable. Huarui had no choice but to rise slowly and salute. “Since that is so, this consort will return to Huanfang Palace.”
“Ling’er.” Yunjie signaled for her to see the guest out. Ling’er muttered something under her breath and unwillingly prepared to lead Lady Huarui away. At the doorway, however, Lady Huarui’s gold-threaded skirt suddenly stopped. She glanced sideways at the corner of an incense burner visible behind the screen and looked thoughtful. “Does the Empress also enjoy burning incense? This consort has some rare fragrant woods. I wonder what kind the Empress usually prefers, so that I might send some over.”
Yunjie did not know why she asked. She assumed Huarui had simply grown bored and come to exchange irritating idle talk, and wanted only to send her away quickly. “I generally do not care for incense. I appreciate the lady’s kindness.”
Lady Huarui remembered the slap she had received and her expression suddenly darkened. “This consort had thought the Empress enjoyed burning red sandalwood…”
Yunjie actually smiled. “Has the lady still not learned the rules of this palace? What His Majesty dislikes most is red sandalwood.”
The delicate, beautiful woman slowly turned around. “Dislikes it? This consort had thought… perhaps he likes it far too much.”
Yunjie froze, unsure what to say. Huarui, however, had understood something. So the person he had said was worthy of red sandalwood was not here.
Then what sort of person could it be?
Lady Huarui saluted and withdrew.
When Ling’er returned after seeing her out, she looked puzzled. “She plainly came intending to make things difficult for us, but just now when she left she looked rather disappointed. I wonder why.”
Yunjie lazily let herself drift back to sleep. “They are all pitiable people.”
The ministers of Jiangnan held a banquet for Lin Renzhao, saying only that the Ruler had always admired General Lin and had therefore arranged the feast especially for him.
Amid singing, chanting, strings, and music, everyone was in high spirits. Then a cup of wine of uncertain origin was suddenly poisoned, and with it three thousand li of mountains and rivers were handed over to ruin.
Li Congshan, by contrast, finally released a breath of relief. Jiangnan’s greatest hidden danger had at last been removed. His journey north had brought contempt and detention, but now this traitor had finally met the death he deserved. Li Congshan felt that his journey had at least been worthwhile.
Even if he had never received the boundless favor Li Yu had known from childhood or been lifted high by everyone around him, he was still an imperial prince. His life too had passed smoothly without anyone ever daring make him suffer the slightest grievance. This time the Song court had nearly detained him outright, and was that not precisely because Jiangnan was full of traitorous scoundrels like this? The more Li Congshan thought about it, the more stifled his anger became. He had to release it somehow.
Now Lin Renzhao was dead. When the news spread, they followed the meaning the Young Elder had hinted to Li Congshan: make no proclamation and say only that Lin had a guilty conscience, became terrified during the ministers’ banquet, and took his own life.
Who with eyes could fail to understand? The moment the story spread, public uproar surged.
Within the palace, a Buddhist temple separated worldly dust from secluded peace. Li Yu knelt before the Buddha as usual. The Young Elder suppressed every memorial concerning Lin Renzhao. Li Yu could not see and now, absurdly enough, had to rely entirely upon a man supposedly outside the secular world. Li Congshan’s temperament had also been calculated perfectly. Though an imperial prince, he had long lived in his fief and never involved himself in struggles over the throne. How could a duke like him withstand the force of the Song court? Had he not just personally destroyed Jiangnan’s strongest shield? With Lin Renzhao dead, who remained in the southern kingdom whom anyone needed to fear?
Chrysanthemums shivered in the courtyard. One more autumn wind and they would probably all fall.
Soon. Soon. He desperately wanted to know whether she was living well. Before long he would finally be able to go back.
Taking in the prescription from the previous day, the Young Elder explained that he had already made discreet inquiries and confirmed that it was indeed a prescription for Li Yu’s symptoms. “If the Ruler still has doubts, you may order the imperial physician to answer from outside the hall. That may set your mind at ease.”
Li Yu kept his eyes closed. “There is no need. At this point, what has happened has already become fact.”
The Young Elder truly had followed the Queen’s instructions and found the trusted imperial physician to ask about the prescription. But when explaining the symptoms, he deliberately omitted the abnormal changes in Li Yu’s eyes. Naturally an outsider could discover nothing. How could he dare reveal that the medicine had been taken by a man with double pupils? To say so would risk leaking the secret. With that concealed, no one would think to suspect the henbane.
Li Yu could not tolerate light. The slightest play of brightness made him dizzy, but after spending long periods in darkness he felt somewhat better. Thus the blood vessels of his eyes themselves were not damaged; the illness had merely been triggered and the color of his pupils dispersed.
There was no time to concern himself with so much now. Li Yu was waiting for Zhao Kuangyin’s reply.
Meanwhile, outside Xunfeng Gate in Bianjing.
The guest residence was complete. At last the yellow silk screens were removed, and the whole city stared in astonishment.
It was not the style of Shu at all. It was entirely…
Crowds gathered to look. Rumors in the streets and alleys intensified. It was actually modeled after the palaces of Jiangnan. Seen this way, the coming war with Jiangnan was inevitable. This time His Majesty had truly made up his mind.
Zhao Kuangyin had once been in the southern kingdom. Although he had never truly had the chance to enter Jinling’s imperial palace, Jiangnan had always favored conspicuous beauty, and the palace with its carved railings and painted halls rose in distinctive layers that could be glimpsed even from elsewhere in Jinling. The routes of canals and other details within the city were known to ordinary people as well. He had committed all of it to memory long ago.
Today he stood atop the highest pavilion in the new residence, looking down over the entire scene. It truly matched exactly what he had seen during that single instant when he leapt from Shengding House. Emotion stirred endlessly in him. After a long while he finally released a deep breath. The guest residence had been modeled entirely after Jinling’s imperial palace, even its highest point resembling Yuxiao Pavilion. Every flower and tree had been transported from Jiangnan and could only have survived through meticulous care.
He had poured his heart into it. Yet standing here now, he suddenly found himself ridiculous.
The ministers dared say nothing and accompanied the Emperor through every part of the residence. Building a guest residence was one thing, but never before had he exhausted himself over such details. Besides, from the day he took the throne, everyone beneath heaven had known Zhao Kuangyin disliked ornate objects. The same was true of his palaces.
“The residence is complete. May His Majesty bestow a name.” Someone stepped forward with the suggestion. Since it was finished, it should have a name.
Zhao Kuangyin had been thinking the same thing, but after two days he still could not decide what name suited such a place. Besides, for someone like that man… no name seemed worthy of setting beside him. After turning it over again and again, Zhao Kuangyin grew irritated. Better to wait until you truly received this residence and let you inscribe its name yourself.
“Hall of Honoring the Worthy.” He gave the name casually. In matters of elegance and refinement Zhao Kuangyin knew he could never compare with that man, so for now he chose something simple and easy to understand.
After returning to the palace, he suddenly changed his mind and summoned Zhao Pu to ask about the reply being prepared for yesterday’s memorial from Jiangnan. Zhao Pu brought over the drafted document. Its language was cautious but severe and made Song’s position perfectly clear. Zhao Kuangyin read it and shook his head.
In the end, seeing that vision of Jinling again had moved him. Such a gentle figure could produce brushwork powerful enough to bite through paper; the strength inside him could not be casually dismissed. And Zhao Kuangyin knew his temperament better than anyone. He always appeared light as clouds and wind. For him to make such a humble request now must have required extraordinary resolve.
Still asking Zhao Kuangyin to spare those people. They were his people, after all.
It was not that Zhao Kuangyin was unmoved. Angry words were one thing, but the Hall of Honoring the Worthy had happened to stir the softest thoughts buried in his heart. Besides, a man like that had one day set aside his proud bearing, descended into the mortal world, and asked something of him. For the first time, he had asked him.
Zhao Kuangyin clenched the harshly worded reply in his hand. “Enough. Send someone.”
Zhao Pu hesitated. “Your Majesty, war is already imminent. To send someone again now…”
“Even a war requires a reason. Consider it a way to find one.” Zhao Kuangyin had decided. “Send an envoy of Song into the Tang state. Invite the Ruler to attend our court.”
Zhao Pu drew in a sharp breath. “Does Your Majesty hope to win without bloodshed? This will certainly not be as easy as it sounds.”
“Of course I know that. Which is why this also depends on the Ruler’s sincerity. Since he fears bloodshed among the people, I will give him a chance.” Zhao Pu still seemed ready to speak, but Zhao Kuangyin raised a hand to stop him. “Do as I have said. If the Ruler refuses to come, then we have all the more reason to call it defiance.”
Zhao Pu nodded faintly. “Yes.”
By the time everything had been arranged, it was already deep into the night. Zhao Kuangyin had only just found a moment to rest when he suddenly thought of Yunjie again.
“Wang Ji’en. How is the Empress today?”
Wang Ji’en normally loved currying favor with the powerful. He knew perfectly well that the Empress was the daughter of a condemned minister from the previous dynasty, so unless necessary he never paid much attention to her side of the palace. Caught by Zhao Kuangyin’s question, he hesitated. It was probably no more than a minor illness. “She seemed better today.”
After considering it repeatedly, Zhao Kuangyin still decided to go and see her.
By the time he reached Zichen Palace, everyone had already gone to sleep. Ling’er rose and looked surprised to see the Emperor, then immediately prepared to go inside and announce him. Zhao Kuangyin raised a finger for silence. “She is ill. Do not wake the Empress. I will go in and look at her. Wait outside.”
The golden hooks in the bedchamber had been lowered. Behind a curtain of plain pale-pink gauze, Yunjie slept quietly. She did not seem to be sleeping well; even in dreams her brows remained deeply drawn, and her fever evidently had not subsided. Zhao Kuangyin gently lifted the curtain and sat beside her couch. His movements were extremely light. He did not truly want to wake her.
In his memory, the young Yunjie had once been no different from the daughter of any great household. She too had been a pampered young lady, clever by nature and, being young, somewhat mischievous. She often provoked Wang Rao’s displeasure. Back then she loved slipping outside behind Zhao Kuangyin, yet she always knew the proper limits. Her manners and upbringing were beyond reproach. No wonder others had always found the idea of Zhao Kuangyin and Yunjie together entirely unsurprising.
Unfortunately, his heart had never been there.
A lifetime spent amid military campaigns and wandering from place to place had left him neither the romantic inclination nor the time for such matters in earlier years. Now that he had finally discovered such feelings, it already seemed too late.
He reached out and gently touched her forehead. Yunjie frowned faintly and shifted in her sleep. That tiny movement startled him. For a moment he feared she might suddenly wake. What would he say to her?
Should he say the state had been consumed by war and he truly had no time to remain with her? Or should he say something else? Even in her breathing he could still hear the obstruction of illness. She was not well. Zhao Kuangyin rose and lowered the gauze once more. Let her sleep properly.
He slowly walked out.
If things were as they had been in the old days, perhaps he and she could still have faced each other easily. Now a crack had opened between them.
Yunjie turned inward and opened her eyes. The warmth of his hand still remained on her forehead.
She did not blame him for being heartless. His heart simply was not with her.
Ling’er stared blankly at Zhao Kuangyin’s dimly lit imperial-yellow silhouette. He had forbidden anyone from kneeling for fear the noise would wake the Empress. He had come in silence and now left just as quietly. The young maid could only feel that it was unfair to the Empress.
Ahead, however, Huanfang Palace blazed with lights. The moment word spread that His Majesty had entered the rear palace, the scene there transformed completely.
Wang Ji’en walked ahead with a lantern and a broad smile. Zhao Kuangyin glanced coldly toward the glittering lamps of Huanfang Palace. “A woman of a fallen kingdom, and she still has the heart for such display.”
Wang Ji’en hurriedly agreed, adding several pieces of idle gossip about Lady Huarui. Zhao Kuangyin suddenly changed direction and his voice went flat. “Wang Ji’en, the Empress has not recovered from her illness, and you know nothing about it?” Wang Ji’en’s face instantly went white. He stammered that tomorrow he would certainly summon imperial physicians and report the Empress’s condition at all times. Zhao Kuangyin did not even look at him. He swept his sleeve aside and left.
Wang Ji’en released a long breath. Imperial intentions were impossible to read. Had the Emperor not been neglecting the Empress all this time? Why was he suddenly worried now? Shaking his head, Wang Ji’en lifted his lantern and hurried after him.
Li Yu remained bowed in prayer for a long time.
Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin. Two days passed without the reply he had expected. Instead, word came that another envoy personally ordered by the suzerain was again heading south to Jiangnan.
At this moment even the Young Elder did not know what his imperial elder brother intended. Like Li Yu, he turned it over privately in his mind as each of them waited.
When the Song envoy once again came south to Jiangnan, Li Yu entered Weiyang Hall for the first time in many days. Even so, he had to be supported by Liuzhu, with his hair drawn slightly across his forehead to conceal his eyes. From a distance nothing seemed especially wrong. The envoy noticed only that his movements were unusual while his complexion seemed acceptable, and did not investigate further. He merely assumed the rumors were true: that the Ruler had become absurdly immersed in Buddhist affairs day after day and no longer concerned himself with government.
Liang Jiong, Envoy of the Gate Office, delivered the imperial message to Li Yu: “This winter the Son of Heaven will perform the chailiao sacrifice. The Ruler should come and assist at the rite.”
Elio’s Notes: Chailiao (柴燎) was a sacrificial rite in which fire and rising smoke were used in worship of Heaven. Here, the invitation to “assist at the rite” is also a demand that Li Yu personally attend the Song court.
Several ministers attending nearby were startled. Was this not plainly a final warning?
The Ruler remained silent for a long while. Then he suddenly recited, “Her slender shoulders seemed carved away, too slight to bear a few silk ribbons. Heavenly fragrance lingers at the phoenix tail; warmth still remains upon the sandalwood pipa.”
Elio’s Notes: These lines are Li Yu’s Written on the Back of a Pipa (《书琵琶背》), a poem traditionally associated with mourning Empress Zhaohui, Zhou Ehuang. The “phoenix tail” and “sandalwood pipa” refer to parts of the instrument, which the poem imagines as still holding her fragrance and warmth.
The envoy had no answer. He thought Li Yu must have fallen into obsession to still be reciting poetry at a moment like this. Li Yu then said, “The Buddhist rites for the late Empress Zhaohui are not yet complete. Wait several days.” He spoke no further and simply left.
Others did not understand Zhao Kuangyin’s meaning, but Li Yu did. That was why anger suddenly rose in him. Did Zhao Kuangyin truly think he had become so lost in Buddhist practice that he no longer cared about anything?
Inside the Buddhist hall, the Young Elder remained in attendance. “This monk did not expect the suzerain to use such words.”
Mockery appeared on Li Yu’s face. “He is forcing me. If I go, he spares the people of Jiangnan. If I do not go, he will still do what he intended.”
The Young Elder shook his head. “The Ruler is compassionate by nature, but you must know that the suzerain already possesses more than half the realm. Pacifying Jiangnan is something he is determined to achieve. How could he willingly stop?”
Li Yu fell silent. “At this point, I truly can no longer presume to guess what he thinks. If my going would make him stop, that would be an enormous blessing. I have long since had nothing left to hold me. If I went… then I would simply go.” He was genuinely considering it. The Young Elder’s heart surged at the words. His imperial elder brother had made such an offer now without the slightest concern for him. If Li Yu risked himself by going and thereby dissolved everything, then all the Young Elder’s planning would have been for nothing.
For him, for this one desolate shadow, Zhao Kuangyin, what else are you willing to sacrifice?
The Young Elder’s breathing grew unsteady, but fortunately Li Yu could no longer see clearly. “The Ruler must not risk yourself. The meaning of the Song envoy is obvious. If you go, it will surely be a plan to capture the ruler and make Jiangnan collapse without a battle, at no cost whatsoever. You absolutely must not.”
Li Yu knew his words were not false. The helplessness he had never before experienced filled him with unusual irritation. “Let me consider it further. I have troubled the Elder with too many secular affairs.”
“The Ruler must consider this thoroughly. It is no small matter.”
Li Yu nodded. From the Young Elder’s angle, there was suddenly confusion on his face. The empty color of his eyes, within the deep darkness of the Buddhist hall, seemed somehow capable of piercing straight through a person’s heart. A small patch of shadow lay beneath his lashes.
He too had begun to hesitate.